Author: Kelly Cawcutt
Should We Add Daptomycin to β-Lactams in the Initial Treatment of Methicillin-susceptible S. aureus Bacteremia?
Content from Dr. Razan El Ramahi, originally posted in IDSA journal club. Despite the availability of active antibiotics to treat Staphylococcus aureus bacteremia (SAB), controversy still exists regarding the optimal antibiotic strategy and whether combination antibiotics improve outcomes. In small clinical studies, a possible benefit was observed by adding daptomycin to β-lactams in the treatment of SAB. However, […]
Jan 28, 2020
Novel Coronavirus – What You Need to Know Now
Content courtesy of Dr. Angela Hewlett Coronaviruses are common respiratory pathogens, and generally cause mild symptoms of the ‘common cold’. However, other coronavirus strains have been known to cause outbreaks that lead to more severe disease like pneumonia, and even death. Examples of these include SARS and MERS, which are both coronaviruses with mortality rates […]
Jan 23, 2020
Antimicrobial Stewardship & Sepsis – A Great Debate
Optimal management of sepsis has long-been a holy grail in medicine. One area that remains fraught with debate is how to effectively balance the need for emergent antimicrobial administration with principles of antimicrobial stewardship. A recent Point–Counterpoint series on “Should Broad-Spectrum Antibiotics Be Routinely Administered to All Patients with Sepsis as Soon as Possible”published in […]
Jan 14, 2020
Celebrating Global Handwashing Day!
Established by the Global Handwashing Partnership in 2008, Global Handwashing Day is celebrated each year on October 15 as a way to increase awareness and understanding of the benefits of handwashing with soap. Global Handwashing Day is an opportunity to get involved in creative ways to encourage people to wash their hands with soap at critical times. […]
Oct 15, 2019
Placing PICCs for Antibiotics – Potential Undue Risks May Outweight Benefits
PICC placement is common practice for intravenous (IV) antibiotic needs, however, we may be inadvertently placing certain patients at higher risks for complications. A recent study by Paje et al assessed the frequency of PICC placement among patients with CKD stage 3b or greater, a practice discordant with current guidelines. This prospective study included data […]
Jul 19, 2019
Propagation of Misinformation – Lessons From the 2019 Ebola Outbreak
This month, two concerning stories about the ongoing epidemic of Ebola virus disease (Ebola for short) in Africa grabbed our attention. On Monday, several social media sites circulated posts about Congolese refugees who had crossed the border from Mexico to Texas and tested positive for Ebola. The various posts circulated widely enough that they were […]
Jun 24, 2019
Preparing for Measles – What You Need to Know
Measles is one of the most contagious infections and is acute respiratory viral infection currently causing an outbreak of infection through the United States. Measles was first described hundreds of years ago and became a reportable infection in the US in 1912. In 1963, the first vaccine for measles became available. Efforts focused on measles […]
Jun 6, 2019
UNMC IDSHEAROES Enter the Race Against Resistance – Read Their Top Ten Reasons
Life-threatening infections caused by antimicrobial resistant organisms, commonly referred to as ‘superbugs’ have taken the media by storm. MRSA, VRE, MDRO, KPC, CRE, CDI – all acronyms that put fear in our hearts that one day, we will have run out of treatment options. That one day, our patients will die from infections that we […]
Jun 1, 2019
How Can UNMC ID Help Support You In 2019?
We are excited to be closing in on our 2 year anniversary of our blog. With that anniversary, we have several positive changes coming for our team. Drs. Kelly Cawcutt and Jasmine Marcelin have been appointed Co-Directors for Digital Innovation & Social Media Strategy for the UNMC Division of Infectious Diseases. We also hired a […]
Feb 6, 2019
Baloxavir Marboxil for Uncomplicated Influenza – Worth the Cost?
Influenza season is in full swing and with that, the discussions surrounding treatment are heating up! Dr. Hankins, a second year ID fellow, led our recent journal club discussion on Baloxavir. The New England Journal of Medicine article, Baloxavir Marboxil for Uncomplicated Influenza in Adults and Adolescents, discusses two randomized control trials, that were double-blinded for […]
Jan 28, 2019
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